TWLL #14: Worship And David's One Thing

 When we think of worshippers in the Bible, David is usually towards the top of the list.  And when you look at his life in I and II Samuel, when you look at the Psalms he wrote, it becomes very clear that he truly was a man of worship.

Today I want to talk about what I believe to be one of the keys that massively impacted David’s life as a worshipper.  

Psalm 27:4 - A Banner Statement Over David’s Life

Much of Psalm 27 is about war and protection.  David’s talking about his enemies and adversaries coming against him, and the Lord being his preservation.

In the midst of this, in verse 4, he makes a significant statement.  He says there’s one thing he’s asked God- that he might dwell in the house of the Lord all his days, and that he might behold or see the beauty of God.

There are layers to this statement, but I want to highlight two that I think impacted David’s life as a worshipper, and can similarly impact our lives first as worshippers and second as worship leaders.

Dwelling In The House Of The Lord

When David says that he wants to dwell in the house of the LORD for all his days, he’s talking about being in and living in God’s presence.  

In the Old Testament the house of the Lord (initially a tent or tabernacle and then a permanent structure by King Solomon’s time) was where the presence of God rested.

So David is saying that he’s asked or desired to be in the presence of God, in the temple, for all of his days.

Here’s why this is so significant.  Worship is a response to seeing or beholding the Lord, but in order to see or behold Him, you have to be in His presence.

So when David says he wants to dwell in God’s presence- whether intentional or not- he’s articulating the starting point for worship.  It begins with His presence.  If we’re in His presence there’s an opportunity to see or behold Him, which we’ll talk about next.

Beholding The Beauty Of The Lord 

Right after David says he wants to dwell in God’s house all of his days, he says he wants to behold the beauty, or literally the delightfulness, of the Lord.

David is saying he wants to see God.  He wants to see the beauty, the delightfulness of God.

Which points us right back to the core or essence of worship- the response of our hearts to what we see or behold.

If we can see or behold the Lord rightly- as He is- then the overflow of that will be a deep and authentic response of worship from us.

Conclusion

In Psalm 27:4 David literally lays out the core components of worship in his request to dwell in God’s house and behold His beauty.  

As worshippers, as worship leaders, we will step into deep and authentic worship when we pursue the things that David pursued in his Psalm 27:4 prayer.

When we pursue God’s presence, when we pursue the opportunity to see and behold Him as He is, the worship will flow out of us.  Which is exactly what our worship should be- a responsive overflow, whether we’re onstage leading a room of people, or offstage in the secret place.

That’s it for today.

See y’all next week 🙌🏼

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Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways I can help you…

If you're still looking for traction in your journey as a worship leader, I'd recommend starting with a simple course or zoom group.

1- Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  A practical framework for leading spontaneous worship.  This comprehensive course empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enable your musicians to flow with you, and help your room engage.  This framework is the core of what I've used for 15 plus years of leading hours and hours of spontaneous worship.  Join here.

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of leading worship or songwriting out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about our upcoming Summer Songwriter Zoom Group, including schedule and cost email me at [email protected]